Madeleine West has compared the divorce to “crossing the Sahara Desert” while discussing her messy split with ex-partner Shannon Bennett.

On Thursday, the 41-year-old again described the hardships she endured when she became a single mother of six in 2018, after leaving the celebrity chef after a 13-year relationship.

“Divorce is a bit like crossing the desert: tough inhospitable terrain to navigate, it’s easy to get completely lost and lose hope, and the journey often leaves you feeling very, very alone,” he said. she writes.

‘But I realize now that when you get to the other side… I can’t promise an oasis, but you will know yourself better, your strengths, your abilities, your fragility.

“While struggling through hardship, if you can honor the relationship that was, the life you built, the family you created, you show respect for the love that started it all and respect for yourself. .”

Madeleine was never married to Shannon, but confirmed in the post that she had been through a difficult “separation” and had also been through the Sahara Desert herself.

“Let me tell you, at least when it comes to divorce you don’t usually end up with sand in your underwear. It makes for a pretty nasty rash,” she joked.

“Divorce is a bit like crossing the desert: tough inhospitable terrain to navigate, it’s easy to get completely lost and lose hope, and the journey often leaves you feeling very, very alone,” he said. she writes.

She then urged anyone ‘saying ‘I don’t do it’ to be happily ever after’ to check out an online toolkit from former divorce lawyer Nikki Parkinson.

“She has been through the trenches, she knows the law inside and out, she has become one of my closest friends and confidants,” Madeleine wrote.

“She’ll support you when no one else will. Love Love Love…. He’s there for all of you. That too will pass x.”

Madeleine announced her split from Shannon in September 2018 after 13 years of dating.

The former couple share six children; Phoenix, Hendrix, Xascha, Xanthe, Xahlia and Margaux.

“While struggling through #difficulties, if you can honor the #relationship that was, the life you’ve built, the family you’ve created, you show respect for the love that started it all and respect for yourself -even,” she added.

A year after the split, Madeleine said she was unlikely to get back together with Shannon.

“I’m a big believer that everything in life has a season. We change. We evolve,” she told The Kyle and Jackie O Show.

“At some point we say, ‘Well, I have certain needs that I want to meet and you have certain needs and if the two don’t come together and intersect in the middle, why fight it and be miserable?

“I also don’t think it’s fair for kids to see two parents who are constantly at cross purposes.”

Madeleine has since moved on and found new love with Byron Bay environmentalist Maximo Bottaro.

The couple were first pictured together in April 2020 when they were spotted kissing on a secluded beach in the NSW coastal town.

They met while Madeleine was volunteering for Maximo’s environmental organization ReForest Now.

New love: Madeleine moved on from those tough years and found new love with Byron Bay environmentalist Maximo Bottaro (right)

Madeleine previously told Stellar magazine in 2018 that she and Shannon were “striving to reconnect as friends and relatives.”

She said having six children and “two high-pressure careers” had strained their relationship over time.

Discussing her decision to leave the relationship earlier this month, Madeline wrote in a post for Mama Mia: ‘I woke up one morning and I no longer recognized myself in the mirror.

“I loved my life so much, but somehow I got lost in it. It didn’t fit me anymore.

“It tore my world apart, damaged the things I held dearest and made love toxic.”

Large family: Madeleine and Shannon, who have never married despite being together for 13 years, share six children, Phoenix, Hendrix, Xascha, Xanthe, Xahlia and Margaux